Advancing the Selection of Neurodevelopmental Measures in Epidemiological Studies of Environmental Chemical Exposure and Health Effects

Eric Youngstrom, Judy S. LaKind, Lauren Kenworthy, Paul H. Lipkin, Michael Goodman, Katherine Squibb, Donald R. Mattison, Bruno J. Anthony and Laura Gutermuth Anthony
Additional contact information
Eric Youngstrom: Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Davie Hall, CB 3270, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC 27599, USA
Judy S. LaKind: LaKind Associates, LLC, 106 Oakdale Avenue, Catonsville, MD 21228, USA
Lauren Kenworthy: Children's National Medical Center, Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Departments of Pediatrics, Neurology and Psychiatry, George Washington University School of Medicine, 15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 350, Rockville, MD 20850, USA
Paul H. Lipkin: Center for Development and Learning, The Kennedy Krieger Institute, Department of Pediatrics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, 707 North Broadway Baltimore, MD 21205, USA
Michael Goodman: Department of Epidemiology, Emory University School of Public Health, 1518 Clifton Rd., Atlanta, GA 30322, USA
Katherine Squibb: Department of Medicine, University of Maryland School of Medicine, 11 South Paca Street, 2nd Floor Baltimore, MD 21201, USA
Donald R. Mattison: Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services, Building 31, Room 1B44, Bethesda MD 20892-7510, USA
Bruno J. Anthony: Georgetown University Center for Child and Human Development, Department of Pediatrics, 3300 Whitehaven Street, NW, #3300, Washington, DC 20007, USA
Laura Gutermuth Anthony: Children's National Medical Center, Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders, Departments of Pediatrics, Neurology and Psychiatry, George Washington University School of Medicine, 15245 Shady Grove Road, Suite 350, Rockville, MD 20850, USA

IJERPH, 2010, vol. 7, issue 1, 1-40

Abstract: With research suggesting increasing incidence of pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders, questions regarding etiology continue to be raised. Neurodevelopmental function tests have been used in epidemiology studies to evaluate relationships between environmental chemical exposures and neurodevelopmental deficits. Limitations of currently used tests and difficulties with their interpretation have been described, but a comprehensive critical examination of tests commonly used in studies of environmental chemicals and pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders has not been conducted. We provide here a listing and critical evaluation of commonly used neurodevelopmental tests in studies exploring effects from chemical exposures and recommend measures that are not often used, but should be considered. We also discuss important considerations in selecting appropriate tests and provide a case study by reviewing the literature on polychlorinated biphenyls.

Keywords: neurodevelopmental measures; neurodevelopment; polychlorinated biphenyls; PCBs; children’s health; domain; psychometrics; developmental epidemiology (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2010
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